Get to Know Big Brother Mzansi’s The Don, Made With a Heart of Gold and for the Shining Lights
While patience is a widely recognised virtue among many, for ex-Big Brother Mzansi housemate The Don, it is a confirmatory carpet that guides one’s feet to doors opened by divine timing. That was what the Bazozwa season was for the man born Sihle Sishi, a chance encounter which opened its arms to him, calling his name and telling him that it was his time in the limelight. With his name written in the Top 10 for history to remember and burned into the hearts of his followers and South Africa at large, the alignment was worth the wait.
“It’s been a long-time dream of mine to get into the Big Brother house, and those who know me personally will tell you all about this—this was my third time trying to get on the show. When I got the opportunity, I grabbed it with both hands and told myself that I’m not letting it go. It wasn’t much I was letting go off in the sense of what I was leaving behind since I wasn’t busy when I came into the show. Everything happens for a reason, I believe, and this season caught me at the perfect time,” he said.
The Don | SUPPLIED
The 24-year-old talked about the satisfaction of staying faithful to himself without resorting to intrigues, drama, and controversy just to reach the final ten.
“I will say that I am very happy with myself and what I gave to Mzansi because when I went into the game it wasn’t with any strategy. Everything was me just being The Don. This person people were watching on the television is the same me out here in real life, and I’m glad that I stayed true to myself because if I feel like if I didn’t, I probably wouldn’t have made it to the top 10. And I do think that me getting that far from just being myself is a big achievement,” he said.
Don reflected on his growth, particularly his ability to pick himself up and do what needs to be done without giving in to putting things off.
“I believe I have a heart of gold, or so I’ve been told,” he said. “There are a few things about me that I’d say have changed from the perspective of growth while I was in the house. For example, I wasn’t consistent and I procrastinated a lot—I just didn’t have that discipline. But while I was in the house, things changed. I had to up my consistency and I had to show up at all times to do the Wagers and I couldn’t just say no. Had to follow the rules to better my discipline.”
Exposure to many strong personalities and worldviews also shaped The Don’s inner world, with the ex-housemate admitting that his time in the house has helped him to be more in touch with his feelings.
The Don | SUPPLIED
“Another thing is that in the real world, I’m not a very emotional person, so I tend to bottle things up a lot. I remember even telling some people in the house that the last time I cried was years ago. So in the house, I got to learn that crying is okay, letting things go is okay and so is being emotional. And you can imagine how much of a lesson that is since we are a country that says ‘indoda ayikhali’,” he said.
The Don talked about practical application of the lessons he collected while in the show.
“What I’ll start doing differently from now on is continuing to work on my discipline as well as not bottling things for the sake of always trying to be strong. Moving forward, I now know that I need to put in more heart and more hard work in whatever I set my mind to,” he said.
The content creator-cum-model highlighted some of the things he would miss.
“Because I was known as the braai master in the house, I will miss the Thursday and Saturday night parties. I will miss the Wagers, the Tasks, and the Arena games, especially the Friday night ones, because of the excitement they packed. And I think I’ll miss them because I was the only one in the house who won those games, like, twice,” he said, chuckling.
Check out The Don’s BBMzansi S6 journey:
The Diepkloof contestant shared the various interests he is planning to home in on now that he has a platform.
“My aim is to now venture into acting, and by God’s grace, I hope to get a proper gig by the end of the year. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be on TV. Another thing I want to do is go deeper into modelling. I know that when it comes to the runway I’m too short for that, so I’ll just stick to commercial and fashion modelling. So people should expect to see me on their screens,” he said.
Don had nothing but words of grace for his supporters, whom he credited with changing the way he saw himself.
“I want to thank everyone who has been following me for the support. You guys are amazing and the love you showed me while I was in there is too much. I appreciate that. I feel that I wasn’t bold enough while I was in the house; like, I was that quiet guy always listening to people and that can get a little boring. But you guys proved me wrong because you kept me in there till I got to the top 10. If I was as boring as I thought I was in my own head, then I don’t think you would’ve voted for me. So I thank everyone for showing me the appreciation and for seeing themselves in me enough to get me as far as their votes took me,” he said.